Black Wings
by Ember022
Summary: A story about Shino as he trudges through the dark criminal underground of the Naruto world. More information on the direction of the story at the end of Chapter 1.
1. Pilot

I don't own Naruto or any of the characters used in this fanfiction. It is fiction made by a fan.

* * *

Swarming, crawling, buzzing, and biting. These are all things that I, as a human being, do every day; for the bugs are a part of me. They live in my body and feed off me and in return I may use them as my defenders… or as my weapons.

Does it bother me that creatures with the ability to kill and devour other humans live inside me? No. Not really, but I've grown up with it. Although I suppose it is rather unsettling for those around me who are aware of this fact. Most people are afraid of insects for some reason, I'm not, obviously, I find them fascinating creatures and they are very useful.

It is those bugs that allow me to do my duties as a shinobi. To protect the village of Konohagakure and all those that live there: my countrymen, my family, and my… friends. It was strange for me to have friends because bugs don't have friends, only family. All I knew was my family, and the bugs, which are also my family.

I find it funny that I think about family and the strangeness of having friends while I sit on this roof listening to something I shouldn't be. Gather information on the recent activities of the Yakamichi Crime Organization and if they pose a potential threat to the Land of Fire eliminate the threat, that is my mission. A fairly simple one, all things considered, but they labeled it a B-Rank because it has to be performed solo. I'm fine with solo jobs, I like working alone, I never get lonely because there are the bugs, there are always bugs.

The beetle in my ear flexed its wings as it reverberated the conversation in the room below me. A beetle in my ear, a beetle in the air duct, a beetle on the hallway wall, and a beetle under the table. This chain of insects allows me to listen as every little secret pours forth from the crime lord's mouth. He wasn't the head of the Yakamichi Family, really only a lieutenant in the grand scheme of things, but a crime lord none the less. In the few hours since I had arrived in the city, and thus started tailing him, he had spoken of multiple immoral deeds that he had committed recently and I'm fairly certain the girl in the room beneath me is not there of her own free will. The bugs say she reeks of fear and chemicals.

It's amazing the kind of things people say when they think no one is listening or they are only among friends. The saying "I wish I was a fly on the wall for that conversation" amuses me because I really can be the fly on the wall.

"How is the shipment coming along?" the boss asked one of the goons in the room. What shipment? I don't like the idea of a crime family receiving any kind of shipment.

"It's right on schedule boss," the goon answered "we have three fourths of the goods already in the armory and the last of it should get here early tomorrow".

In an armory? That means 'the goods' are weapons. I don't like it at all. What kind of weapons though?

"And the black powder? Make sure it remains separated, the last thing we need is for it to blow up and set all of South District on fire". Black powder that explodes, it has to be gunpowder. Meaning the weapons they were talking about are guns. A bunch of criminals with guns are definitely a threat to the Land of Fire. So they must be eliminated, either the guns or the men, one of the two.

So now I have to decide upon a plan of attack. Based on what they were saying they are keeping the guns and the powder separate from each other. He said they didn't want to set the South District on fire so that means the powder is being stored there. That makes things difficult. The South District are a bunch of slums, there are tons of abandoned buildings and dark allies that could be used. It's a haven for criminals.

Those two quick questions were all that they touched on the topic but it wasn't because it's not important. They seem to think if they talk about it too much it will become public knowledge. Not a bad practice but too bad for them that I already heard everything I need.

The next hour was spent listening to them get drunk and talk about completely pointless things. Ranging from boasting about past achievements to completely hallow threats toward people whose names I've never heard. They spent a good ten minutes arguing over the size of some waitresses' bust until they gave up trying to give it an actual label and agreed upon "fuckin' big". It's strange what ways some people find to pass time.

The drugged and scared girl was taken from the room some time ago and the men left and returned one at a time shortly after. Based upon the pheromones they were giving off when they returned it would appear that they were taking turns ravaging the girl. Sad that such a thing is happening right bellow me and I cannot help her. If I were to barge in and rescue the girl I would be forced to kill all the men as well and I would never learn where the guns are.

A shinobi with less experience dealing with the cartels and mafia's of the world might believe that eliminating the leader now would solve the problem but in reality it would change little. In the criminal underworld there are always people leaping at a chance to fill a void in power. No, the only way for me to make sure these scum don't start shooting up the city is to destroy the guns or destroy the family and the first is a much more achievable goal. In order for me to complete my mission the girl would have to suffer, I don't like it, but I'll store my anger for later.

It was when they were all getting ready to leave that I heard something that gave me my next move.

"Here you and Ikari go check on those dolts down at the docks and make sure everything is prepped for tomorrow" it was the boss speaking.

"But boss you never told us what dock we are using" a goon this time.

"Oh yeah here I'll" a pause, the beetles say he made a bodily noise so probably a hiccup, hopefully a hiccup "mark on this map where the dock is".

"Make sure you put the warehouse too boss so that we can deliver it tomorrow" the goon.

"Right right" the boss.

So they just got a map that has the location of everything marked on it? Well that makes my job easy. Now all I have to do is kill the man carrying the map and I'll have all the intel I need. How foolish of them. I sent a female beetle with orders to attach itself to the man with the map.

They slipped out into the street and went their separate ways. Nine of them went west toward the center of the city and two went east toward the docks. Seven of the nine going west were obviously quite intoxicated while the two others with them seemed to be on alert and the same could be said for the two going east. They were probably the bodyguards for the drunkards. My target was going east and I quickly followed. The rooftops of the city and the darkness of the night made tailing them an easy task.

They reached a street corner and the one on the left said something to the other. I couldn't make out what they were saying from my current position but they split up with one turning the corner while the other went straight. I was right to place a bug on the man with the map. Around the corner I went.

The goon continued for about a block then turned into an alley. From my position on the rooftop I could see that the alley was a dead end. Either this man is new to the city or he is as drunk as the rest but is better at hiding it. This presented the perfect opportunity to strike though.

I stepped into the shadows and was at the mouth of the alley in an instant. In the darkness no one could see me but I could see the man quite well. He was standing in the middle of the alley looking at the wall in front of him with what I'm sure is a surprised face as he realizes he made a wrong turn. I let the beetles swarm.

In the night there is no way that a non-ninja could see the small black forms of my insects but the sounds of a kikaichu swarm are quite prevalent. The normal reaction to hearing their sounds is one of panic. I have watch full grown men have a full-fledged mental breakdown when facing a swarm. This man though responded in a way I never could have guested.

He turned to me and said "Hey there Shino" with a wink.

…

I'm so confused.

How can someone who isn't a shinobi possibly see me? How do they know my name!? And what's with that wink!?

The sudden silence must have been an indicator of my shock for the strange man because he continued. "What you don't recognize one of your own friends? Grant it this isn't how I normally look but it's rude to not answer a lady when they greet you".

With a shocked voice I asked "Ino?"

* * *

What do you think about the opening? I have some idea's about where this story will go but no set plot so ideas are welcomed.

This story will focus completely on Shino and no other characters but there will be other characters in the story. The first one will be Ino.

I will put a large amount of emphases and focus on Shino's connection with the bugs that live inside him. I've read a lot of fanfiction about Shino that downplay his bugs or sometimes don't even use them but they will be an ever present factor in mine.

I don't have any plans for a romance in the story but i'm not closed to it either. Depends on what you, the readers, want. Although if there is you can be assured that bugs will be involved.

Please review, both bad and good are welcomed, and feel free to PM me.


	2. Direction

I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. This is fiction made by a fan.

* * *

Ino? What's Ino doing here? Why is she in the body of a crime goon? Does she have the same mission I do? I'll ask her. "What are you doing here?"

"Always straight to the point with you," She answered "but that's good because I don't have much time. I'm here on a mission for my clan".

"So you're not after the guns?"

"No but I did send a message back to the village about them planning something. I didn't learn that it was guns though until yesterday". It's strange talking to this man, who I have never met before, like he is a friend. A female friend at that. Do others feel strange when talking to me because of the bugs? No, I'm always in the same body.

"Your stoic silence hasn't changed" Ino/Goon said as she/he walked toward me. The swarm was still in the air placidly floating until they receive some kind of command. I could feel them as Ino/Goon got closer, I could feel them as they wrapped around her/him. It felt sort of like a hug but there wasn't the heat or pressure of actually touching someone. My friends don't touch me though, only family touches me.

"I have a favor to ask of you" she/he asked. She/he probably can't even see the bugs in the shadows around her or if she can she doesn't mind them. The near-hug is awkward for me, although it doesn't show on my face, emotions rarely show on my face, but she doesn't seem perturbed by it in the slightest. Oh yeah, she/he can't feel the bugs… I sometimes forget others can't feel the bugs.

"Can you go back to where the meeting was held and get my body from the closet in the building opposite of it? I left a chakra seal on the door but that shouldn't be a problem for you. After you get me take it to this address…" she got a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to me "apartment number 13 alright? I'll meet you there later."

"Sure" I answered. I really don't have a problem with helping her and besides she has the map with all the intel. Now that I think about it, it was probably her work that tricked the drunken crime lord into making that map. Who knows what kind of mind tricks the Yamanaka clan have hidden up their sleeve.

"Good" she/he seemed relived at my answer. Did she think I would turn down her request? That I would ignore her and continue with my own mission? That I would kill the man she was using as a vessel? Now the thought appealed to me... no, that would not be right… she is my friend. I must take her goals into consideration. "I have to meet up with that bastard Ikari quickly or else he might start asking questions about why my piss took so long". My eyebrow raised at his/her statement and he/she ratified my suspicion "yeah I told him I had to take a piss", with that she/he was gone. My confusion on whether or not to refer to her/him as a man or a woman was starting to give me a headache.

Strange. It must be hard to pretend to be someone else. I can't do disguise missions because of my body's physical limitations so I don't know what it would be like to have to act like something you're not.

I told the swarm to return and their small legs crawling on my skin was a relaxingly familiar feeling. I left to find Ino's body.

It was an easy task. A simple chakra scan and I was able to feel the location of her body as well as the chakra seal she put on the door. It seems she didn't put any kind of masking up; probably assuming there would be no ninja about to find her, a reasonable assumption.

I had my kikaichu eat the chakra from the seal before trying to open the door. I've had enough bad experiences with underestimating even simple seals to not make the same mistake twice. The door swung open with a creak revealing the empty body of Ino sitting with her legs crossed and her head sagging forward. It looked like an incredibly uncomfortable position.

How had she managed to force herself into the goon from the closet? Did she trick him into following her in? Had he come to get something and she ambushed him? Or could she perform the jutsu through walls now? We have all gotten much stronger over the years but to be able to possess someone without a line of sight would be astonishing.

The closet with rather dirty, I'm surprised she would willingly leave herself here. Ino always seemed to be the type that avoided filthy things whenever possible. There were cockroaches in the walls as well. I could feel them. My father said that this connection with insects that are not even my own is something that the heads of the Aburame Clan develop over time but I've had it for as long as I can remember. It has gotten more potent as I've gotten older though.

Oh wait if I have to take her back to her apartment then I'll have to carry her body…

I could let the bugs do it but I don't think she would like that very much. Ino never liked bugs very much. Guess I'll have to. I'll take the rooftops to her apartment so I can avoid anyone seeing me carrying her like this.

I really didn't need to worry about anyone seeing me though. The night was in full swing and with only a sliver of the moon showing tonight it was very dark. Even if I was walking the street it would have been unlikely that that few people remaining outside could see very far into the black.  
I followed the instructions on the piece of paper Ino/Goon had given me back to her apartment building. I'd rather avoid the awkwardness of going through the lobby so I jumped onto the fire escape next to her window. The window was locked of course but the swarm unlatched it easily. There are very few rooms that are bug proof.

The apartment was small but in a surprisingly well furnished state. Does Ino rent this herself or is this one of the many waypoints owned by the Yamanaka Clan? It doesn't make much sense for Ino to have an apartment outside the village so it was probably the latter. The Aburame Clan was one of the few clans that don't maintain waypoints in all the major cities in the Land of Fire and beyond. We do have many different insect research stations scattered throughout the map though.

I laid Ino's body on her bed and closed the door to her bedroom as I walked back out into the main room of the apartment that made up of both the living room and the kitchen. I sat down on the couch but kept my hands in my coat pockets, somehow I felt like I was intruding. It was only a little over half an hour before Ino returned to her own body. She opened the door to her bedroom and walked out into the small hallway with a yawn and stretched. It was like she had just woken up from a long sleep. I wonder if that's how it feels for her. Clan jutsu are something that outsiders will never be able to truly understand because they will never experience what it really feels like to say invade someone else's mind, control your shadow, or connect your thoughts with the thoughts of thousands of insects.

"Ah Shino your still here, good" Ino said as she walked into the main room but it was obvious she knew I was here the moment she returned to her body, maybe even before.  
"Did you think I would leave?" I asked. My voice was as monotone as it always was but she gave me a slight giggle. "I don't know," she answered "we really haven't worked together much so I wasn't sure if you were going to dump my body and continue with your own mission or actually wait for me to return".

I didn't say anything in response but I stood from the couch. I was simply standing up but I think she took it as a sign that I was leaving or was offended. "I didn't mean that in a bad way," she stated with raised hands as if to calm my non-existent anger "please stay for tea so we can discuss what's going on with the Yakamichi Family".

I nodded and sat at the small coffee table in the center of the room while she went to make the tea. I wanted to correct her misconception on my anger but couldn't think of the correct words to do it so I remained silent.

Ino brought in the tea shortly after and poured me a cup. I took a sip and instantly recognized that it had a strong flavor. I don't like strong flavors but I don't want to be rude to my host so I continued to drink it.

She was the first to speak "I'm assuming your mission is to get rid of this new arsenal of guns that the Yakamichi are collecting?"

"Not so specific but yes," I answered "I was to assess if they were a threat and if they are I am to eliminate said threat".

"Well I'd say a bunch of thugs running around with firearms is definitely a threat".

"I agree". It was pretty obvious from our earlier conversation as to why I am here but why is she here? "Same question for you" I asked "what's your mission?"

She looked into her cup for a moment as if she was thinking about whether or not to tell me. After a moment she answered "normally clan missions are secret, as I'm sure you know, but this one isn't that confidential. One of the Yakamichi crime lords, one of the bigger fish in the pond actually, has been extorting a tea shop along the border. The owner is a kind old woman who supplies the Yamanaka Clan with rather exotic plants. We decided to help her out".

That means… "So your mission is one of as-"

"Assassination, yes" she completed my question for me as well as giving an answer. I like the productivity.

"Is there another Yakamichi Crime Lord in the city that I don't know about? I'm inclined to believe the guy from earlier wasn't your target". If he was her target then the little gangster would already be dead.

"No if he was my target he would already be dead". I was right. "My target is a man by the name of Yoshiaki Yakamichi". Wait did she say Yakamichi? As in a member of the actual Yakamichi family and not just a part of the organization?

"That's a hard target," I said slowly "if you kill a member of the main family you would shoot to the front of their bingo book". She laughed like I said something funny.

"I'm already at the front of their bingo book, as is the rest of my clan" she stated after she finished laughing. "The Yakamichi deal in a lot of narcotic drugs so you can see why my clan clashes with them so often"

It was the same kind of situation between the Aburame had with the Kamizuru Clan. When you both specialize in the same field you're bound to clash heads eventually. In terms of shinobi, it happens most often on the battlefield.

"I understand". I really do. We are both heirs to our respective clans so we've grown up with this kind of stuff. I should consider myself lucky that we had so many clan heads in my class. The political relationships in the village will improve drastically from our friendships. That's probably what the elders had in mind when they assigned us teams.

Ino took out a map of the city and laid it on the table. She picked up a marker and, after some brief searching, circled three buildings then pushed it toward me.

"This one is the dock that they are making the deliveries at" she pointed to a building along the shoreline. "This one is where they are keeping the gunpowder" she pointed to a building in South District, I was right. "This one is where they have their little 'armory'," she pointed to a building that was actually only a few streets down from this apartment "it's also one of their primary headquarters in the city so you're going to want to be careful about that one". Then she put a large X on a street intersection "and here is where I'm going to ambush Yoshiaki tomorrow morning while he's on his way to look at the soon-to-be fully delivered gun collection".

"Too bad for him that I plan on having all those guns in the hands of the police tomorrow" I said with a pleasure I know wasn't represented in my voice. Even if I didn't sound enthused Ino seemed to take joy in the words.

"Too bad indeed" was all she said but she was smiling so I think that's a good sign. "It's getting late and we have a busy day tomorrow," Ino stated looking out the window "you can crash here on the couch if you want".

"Thank you, I'll take you up on that offer". I'd never admit it out loud but it was nice to know I had a comrade nearby while I slept.

* * *

The next morning I donned my gear with a practiced patience. Taking time for each strap and tool so that I knew they would not fail me in the coming combat. The kikaichu knew my mood and stirred excitedly beneath my skin.

I was standing on the roof of the apartment building watching the orange sun rise over the horizon when I felt Ino's presence behind me. I turned and saw that she too was wearing her combat gear; the green flak jacket of Konoha setting an odd contrast against the brown and grey of the city and the orange of the sky.

"Are you ready?" She asked me. The question was aimed at me but I know she was asking herself the same thing. We were both feeling that sick twisting in our stomachs that comes before a fight. No matter how much you do it, you never truly get used to killing.

"Yeah" was all I answered.

"Are you equipped enough to take on an entire gang?" she asked next "there not shinobi but you shouldn't underestimate simple blades and guns". It's true that I'm not wearing a flak jacket and the only visible gear I'm carrying is my satchel and leg holster but my real weapon wasn't steel.  
"I currently have around ninety-thousand kikaichu with me". It wasn't a direct answer to her question but it got the point across. I can see it in her blue eyes though, that same searching motion that everyone does when they learn how many bugs I actually have living inside me. I think they expect to see them crawling beneath my skin or something. In my current attire though not much of my skin is visible so she didn't look very long.

"Be careful out there" she stated as she turned to head to her ambush point which was in the opposite direction I was heading.

"You too" I said in return and in a blur we were both gone from the rooftop. Buildings glided by beneath me as I went farther into the city, as I went toward the headquarters of the Yakamichi Family.

I returned to the street about a block before my target building. Walking along the sidewalk I drew a few strange glances by those on the street. From what Ino had told me this morning the headquarters doubled as a bar so I walked in the front door.

The inside of the building was the exact thing you would expect of a mid-town bar. It had booths and pool tables with a rather nice looking bar that was loaded with bottles and glasses. I spotted the symbol of the Yakamichi Family hanging above the bar. The room was mostly empty except for the bartender and a few tattooed men that were currently playing cards over on a table, probably the last visage of the night guard.

"Sorry sir we are still closed," the bartender said without looking up from his glasses but when I didn't respond he finally turned to look at me "I said-"

I let the bugs swarm.


End file.
